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Battle of Ravenhelm
The Battle of Ravenhelm was the climactic battle in the War of the Dawn. The battle was fought between the mur under the command of Sharur against those within the walls of Ravenhelm consisting of the Vanadun, the remnants of the Idran army, and refugees from across Sunbasa and Muthadras. While Sharur's forces outnumbered the defenders and overwhelmed them at first, and with the arrival of the Morathi and the Pale Horde and the coming of the a storm that affected mur movements, the defenders managed to hold the city. Despite the victory, Ravenhelm was crippled and the casualties staggering. Prelude Ravenhelm was as prepared as possible given the circumstances for the assault. The city was literally bursting with refugees and the economy and infrastructure was suffering. The defensive structures relied mainly on the actual mountain itself as the walls were now brittle, old, and crumbled, during the movements Essenia observed "The city had survived centuries of harsh conditions, the walls and its towers are bones, not stone." Essenia the Harbinger, Halemar Udin, Alnair Lunatus, and the Remnant Council led the armies of Ravenhelm totaling at an estimated 2800 Vanadun, 5200 soldiers, and 1,000 militia and refugees. Ravenhelm was built into the mountain, with a massive river running through the center, making its only entrance amphibious without the rampart lowered. Trees surrounded the rest of the lands, the mur moved through the forest, hindered for weeks by Vanadun Rangers, until finally they began burning the forest to cinders. Ravenhelm during the mur's approach began arming the refugees and securing the lowest dungeons of Ornum Sean so that the women, children, and leadership could hide when the city fell. Preparing ballistas and trebuchets as well as reinforcing the gate. The mur assault commenced as soon as the murfire consumed the last of the forest, it spread to the city and brought with it the Hynmur. The Battle The Walls The city was defended by an estimated 2,800 Vanadun, 200 knights, 5,000 soldiers, and 3,300 militia, refugees, and mercenaries. Essenia commanded the defense, with Alnair incompetent due to his psychosis, followed by Halemar, Zerick, and the Remnant Council. On the wall the first line of archers were the Vanadun given key tactical positions such as above the gate and surrounding it. The remainder were archers, crossbowmen, spear hurlers, and even throwing rocks, pots, and pans due to lack of equipment. The mur however quickly scaled the walls with ladders and siege towers to unleash Azimur atop the walls. This broke the ranks on the walls and morale greatly with their effectiveness, impression, and the mur's savagery. The Swangate The mur were unable to cross to the Swangate due to the flow of the river and lack of boats. The mur however used their Unzimur to begin slowly ferrying troops, but the Vanadun archers crushed the attempts. Unable to reach the gate, the mur armies were divided in two attacking the two parts of the walls. The archers from the gate then affectively flanked these two separate segments of the mur army. Upon this the defenders began pouring oil over the sides and igniting these, the fire consuming the bottom of the walls. The defenders though overwhelmed on the walls were costing the advancing mur heavily. Predicting the mur's failure at reaching the Swangate Essenia and Alnair commanded the western portion of the wall with Halemar and Zerick commanding the eastern. The walls' defenders were wavering and broke easily with most militia dropping their weapons and fleeing. After about two hours of fighting, the defenders were called to retreat officially though the ranks had been wavering for far longer. The fighting then resumed in the streets of Ravenhelm, between buildings and in alleys, the defenders couldn't run fast enough resulting in a tooth and nail fighting mentality. The siege bombardment on the city finally breached the western wall, allowing the full weight of the second segment to flood the city. The siege equipment then began focusing solely on the east wall until it too fell. The Vanadun archers above the gate because of the destruction were stranded above the gate but still did not abandon their posts. The Streets As the fighting progressed in the city the siege equipment caused heavy damage to the infrastructure, further obstructing paths to the citadel at the center of the rear of the city. Sharur's lack of appearance concerned Essenia and the leaders had completely lost control of the defenders, the battle was merely a desperate brawl after the breach. However Halemar managed to command a stunning defense of the eastern breach, rallying a few hundred Idran to him and holding the breach for most of the battle. As retreating men and Vanadun reached the bosom of Horusha the Nightwatcher, Volhin Blackwater managed to rally the fleeing men after he locked the wing gates to the citadel. Along with the help of Sir Amore Faxen, Saldir, and Sir Alani Thrush, each took to the three main streets with the intent of blocking the roads completely. Meanwhile Volhin defended the main road with the bulk of the force, using the Durogoth hoplites on each flank with Vanadun leading a crushing vanguard. Sir Alani Thrush managed to sacrifice himself and bring down the Southeye Tower, collapsing across the south running main street and most alleyways. On the other side, the north running Saldir and his legionnaires clogged the artery with the help of the Knights of Thorn who brought down the prominent statue of the Winged God before the Rose Gate. Despite breaching or scaling the Azimur were henceforth dramatically slowed and suffered a guerrilla team of Vanadun preventing affective advance. Night and the Second Day The defenders having fought for a full day and chased throughout the city were physically worn. The following night and day had the defenders wide. This paired with starvation already running rampant throughout the city led to a shaky set of defenders. Because of Halemar's defense of the breach and Volhin's remarkable leadership the city had held and the Azimur had retreated to regroup. The defenders assumed that the Azimur meant to gather their full force and march straight through the breach. Defenders slept in shifts and parties were sent out to scavenge for food and search for survivors. The city was found to be eerily empty and calm despite the complete and utter destruction. Dawn of the Second Day As dawn came a light rain began and the Azimur launched an attack in full force through the breach, easily breaking the light defense left there led by Sir Lynus Morrow, where he was killed. The Azimur then swung up the center and threw the defenders against Horusha the Nightwatcher where a desperate fight took place. Aftermath The battle was eventually won by the defenders of Ravenhelm, destroying much of the mur army and with the arrival of the Pale Horde, routed the remainder, however it was a hollow one as the last bastion of men had been breached and all but destroyed and only a few hundred warriors survived the battle with twice that wounded. Following Ravenhelm was abandoned with the remaining Vanadun (save Alnair and Numeas) northward with the surviving women and children, and those few who would not follow the Essenia on their last gambit, an open march on the Fallen Dawn.